ARUP Responds to Ageing Populations

Arup has launched Shaping Ageing Cities, a new report that analyses how ten European cities are responding to ageing.

We are living in the urban and ageing era. In 2050, for the first time in human history, the number of older people will be greater than the number of children under 15 years old.

As cities across the globe continue to grow, more people are growing old in housing, streets, communities that often are failing to respond appropriately to ageing populations with specific policies.

How can cities respond to this demographic change and deliver appropriate solutions? This forward-thinking report, undertaken by Arup in collaboration with HelpAge International, Intel ICRI Cities and Systematica addresses this global concern through a comparative overview of the performance of 10 European cities.

The report analyses these key issues according to ageing data and observing them under the lenses of society, mobility, built and digital environment and sets up the basis to further investigate the correlation among politics, planning and ageing.

"Cities and urban environments have a fundamental role in defining how to deal with our ageing society. This provides a unique opportunity to influence and design urban environments and social structures in ways that respect, protect and fulfil our rights, including in our older age," said Stefano Recalcati, Associate, Milan.

Shaping Ageing Cities defines a methodology to study ageing in European cities; understanding main features such as transportation, income, outdoor spaces, building design, social inclusion, ICT and health services in order to apply this experience to the growing market related to city-making.